Hydrant-valve



JAMES coonrniNE,v or NEW YORK, N. Y. Y

HYDRANT-VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 10,306, dated December ,'13, 1853.

T all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JAMES COGHRANE, of thecity, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Hydrants for Drawing Water, of

which the following is a full, clear, and ex act description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, making part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l is front elevation as attached toordinary hydrant-s. Fig. 2 is a plan with hydrant, discharge pipe, &c.,removed. Fig. 3 is a central section of discharge pipe, cock, and cockplug, expanding chamber, liexible substance, plate H and semisphere, inposition of having the water suspended in the discharge pipe.

The same letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

To prevent the water from freezing dur ing cold weather in the dischargepipe of hydrants the ordinary practice has been to provide the dischargepipe with a waste hole and cock or valve which is usually closed whiledrawing water and then opened to permit the contents of the dischargepipe to escape or waste; and although this generally prevents the waterfrom freezing, in the discharge pipe, yet it is seriously objectionable, for the reason that it occasions a great waste of water,particularly in populous cities; and the water thus wasted loelow thesurface of the ground soaks or drains through the earth, and graduallywashes away the earth, or sand, surrounding the foundations, of housesin the neighborhood, thereby rendering themweak and damp.

The object of my invention is to remedy these objections and also tomake the hydrant self closing by the hydrostatic pressure and gravit-yof the ordinary waste water; and to this end it consists in combining,with the discharge pipe, of hydrants, a contracting and expandingchamber, which is expanded when the main valve of the hydrant is beingclosed, by the ordinary waste water running or falling therein from thedischarge pipe, to protect it from the frost; and contracted or emptied,before, or at the time the main Valve, or cock, is opened, to force thewater back into the discharge pipe. In this way I am enabled effectuallyto keep the water out of the discharge pipe, and so far below thesurface, as to prevent freezing, and without the waste of water, withthe inconveniences attendant thereon, and also make the hydrant Selfclosing, by the force of the'water, leave ing the discharge pipe.

In the accompanying drawings S represents the main pipe leading from thehead.

of water to the chamber ofcock E contain.-

ing the plug which governs the delivery of water to 'the discharge pipeI, Vextending abovethe surface. The main valve or cock plug, which isrotary, is provided with a crank arm, and joint pin, connected by linkL, to a joint pin, projecting Vfrom a forkedl sliding cross `frame C,whichframe is attached to. rod D, with a handle or lever V above thesurface, by which the coc-k plug,

or valve ismoved, to open and close they low of sutlicient capacit-y tocontain as much or more than the discharge pipe; and the bottomvof thischamber is a flexible disk, R, of vulcanized india rubber, or otherflexi- Ylolesulostance, properly secured as by plate H, to the loweredge or bottom flanch.

This flexible Vbottom shouldbe dished; and below it there is asemisphere A, attached to the enlarged lower ends of sliding cross frameC and moving with it, so that when the hand lever V is lowered, toturnthe valve vor cock, to shut off the water from the discharge pipe,the semisphere A, is let down so that the water inthe discharge pipe candescend int-o the chamber or vessel B, the flexible diskyieldingto thepressure of the column of water, and impin'ging on the semisphere, andby that force, on the sliding cross frame, and link connecting to crankarm of cock plug, forms thus, the

closing force; and when the handle is raised i i to draw water, thesemisphere A is drawn up which forces the flexible disk into thechamber, or vessel, thereby contract-ing it, and forcing the water outlof it back into the discharge pipe. the water way in cock plug tocoincide with the main and discharge pipes. In this way the hydrant isoperated, and the water is kept below the reach of frost, without waste,avoiding all the inconveniences, heretofore The same motion causesexperienced. If however, the valve-or cock by wear should leak, thechamber or vessel would soon overflow, and the water would then rise inthe discharge pipe," and be eX- posed to frost. To prevent this I make asmall waste hole X, which communicates with the lower end of thedischarge pipe; and I also make a small way Y in the valve or cock,which opensV the communication loe-- tween the discharge pipe, and thisWaste hole, when the main valve is .closed and the expanding chambernearly wholly expanded, so that any water leaking through the mainvalve, or cock, will be discharged, or

wasted; and the moment, the valve or cock is moved, to draw water, thewaste hole is closed to prevent the escape of water.

-Ihave thus'pointed out the nature of my invention, and the mode ofapplication which I have tried with success; buty I do not wish to beunderstood as limiting Inyself to this particular mode of application asother modes may be devised having the same principle'or mode ofoperation, as for instance, instead of the flexible chamber a piston andchamber may besubstituted, or

any known mode of reducing and enlarging the capacity of the chamber oralternately admitting and forcing the water therefrom may besubstituted, and so withV reference to t-he valve, any other mode ofclosing and opening the passage between .the main and 'waste way.

the discharge pipe, such as a puppet `or slide valvevmay be substituted,although at Vpresent I prefer to employ a turning cock as it is not soliable to be injured by suddenly stopping the Apassage of water, andthereby producing the violent, shock, known as the waterrarn or hammer.

lVha-t I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis- 1. Combining with the issuing pipe and main cock, or two way cock,flat, or conical valve `and leakage waste way; a pist-on and chamber, ora partly flexible chamber, emptying into, andvreceiving from, the issuing pipe, water, between the interval, of opening and closing themain; and leakage 2. I claim, Vthe shutting force by hydrostaticpressure and gravity of the ordinary waste water, also the generalarrangement of the moving part-s by their gravity to favor the shuttingforce, substantially such as herein described, and set forth.

Jai/[Es4 COGHRANE.

Witnesses:

GEO. W'. MoRToN, J. W. C. LEVERIDGE.

